BACKGROUND: The study aimed to develop a novel orthopedic surgical scaffold made of collagen and silk to repair the tendon and bone interface, and to investigate its influence on tendon and bone healing in a rabbit model.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four types of surgical scaffold were prepared, including a random collagen scaffold (RCS), an aligned collagen scaffold (ACS), a random collagen scaffold combined with knitted silk (RCSS), and an aligned collagen scaffold combined with knitted silk (ACSS). Rabbit bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) were cultured and seeded onto the RCS and ACS scaffold. The animal model included four-month-old female New Zealand White rabbits (N=20) that underwent drilling into the rotator cuff of the left supraspinatus muscle tendon, randomized into the ACSS and RCSS groups.

RESULTS: Rabbit BMSCs adhered to and proliferated on the RCS and ACS in vitro. Transcription levels of the COL I, COL III, and tenascin (TCN) genes were significantly increased in the ACS group compared with the RCS group. Transcription levels of COL I, runt-related transcription factor-2 (RUNX-2) and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) were significantly increased in the RCS group compared with the ACS group. RCSS and ACSS implanted in the rabbit models for eight weeks resulted in more regenerative tissue in the RCSS group compared with the ACSS group, with new cartilage at the tendon and bone interface at 12 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS: A collagen and silk scaffold improved healing of the tendon and bone interface in a rabbit model.

Keywords: Bone Marrow Cells, Collagen, Silk, Tissue Scaffolds, Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2, Bone and Bones, Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit, Orthopedic Procedures, rotator cuff, Stem Cells, Tenascin, Tendons, Wound Healing